Setting side hustle income goals

[KBecks]

Hi MMMers,

Do you set goals for your side hustles, or are you more laid back, take what comes, style?

Every time I get excited about how much money I want to make, I seem to fail at delivering and it's a no fun cycle.  Generally I want to focus on doing a great job, but -- the money can get very weak, too.   My spouse works and so there's no requirement for me to deliver, but on the other hand, I'd like to  make my work time productive and get paid a good rate.

For hourly, I'm trying to consistently make $30 - $50/hour and work to push that more towards $50, as in, not looking at things that make less than that amount.

But I struggle with setting more firm goals.

The upside is that I only do work that is fun.  I love my schedule, I love my jobs, I'm having a great time.
But, I'm only making $10 - $15k a year.   Can't I do better?  Wouldn't it be better if I could throw down $30k a year?

I'm not sure if I should go out there and put more effort into "killing it". LOL

[JanetJackson]

Hi!
I am not sure I follow- you make 10-15k at the side hustles alone?
That's pretty good!

This, of course, will be different for everyone, but I TRY not to add to my stress via side hustles.  I KILL MYSELF and am pretty miserable at my day job and then at my 2nd W2 Job and work as much as I can for those (because they pay the most), and then I stack my side hustles in terms of income (I do the higher income jobs first), but I enjoy all of them.
I have a GENERAL idea that I want to make between $300-$700 a month at these side hustles, and as long as I fall into that range, I feel "ok."

I tried setting very firm side hustle goals for a few months and found myself feeling miserable about AMAZING stuff like hiking with someone's dog for money (holy heck, I can't believe I'm so lucky!)... which is so so so out of my character (I freaking LOVE dogs and hiking- and combined... MIND BLOWN) that I knew I was doing it wrong and needed a reset.  Then I set the fairly loose $300-700 parameter, and things have been much better.
I actually believe I could surpass both of my day jobs if I went full-force with the side hustles, but I am not sure if it would wipe the enjoyment out of them.  I don't have a ton of other things going on in my life that are as positive as my dog walking business (I also clean houses, do yardwork etc.), so I really really don't want to ruin it.


Hope that gives a good representation of my perspective.  Good luck!

[KBecks]

Sorry for the lack of clarity.  I have no main job, just "play" jobs. I could be doing more to earn income.

[reformingSucka]

What if you started from a place of what you hope to gain/ accomplish with your side hustle? Are you looking to save toward FIRE? Help with expenses? or a vacation? Does the side hustle give you something meaningful to do while getting paid?

Because the value of side gigs are not just money (although, great!). So if making 30K in side gig means you spend less time with your family or you make other sacrifices that you don't find worthwhile (taking jobs you don't like) then it would be a different cost/ benefit analysis. Good luck!

[scantee]

I don't have a specific dollar amount goal for my side hustle income. My goal is to have my side hustle income cover all of my discretionary personal spending. Things like: clothes, hair, make-up, massages, dinners out with friends, work lunches, books, hiking gear etc. I just set this goal a few months ago and so far it is going well. I've had to cover a few discretionary spends out of my regular paycheck, but those were small and didn't amount to much. Next year, I plan to be more focused on this goal, not allowing myself any personal spending that is not paid for by side hustle income.

I've found this approach to be more motivating than just setting a dollar amount goal. I like that it allows me to devote all of my regular paycheck to either necessities (which for me are: mortgage, utilities, food, car gas/insurance, child care, my kids' activities, and vacations) or after-tax savings (which either goes to college funds, brokerage account, or long-term savings for big expenses like car replacement or home improvement). If things go well next year, I'd like to expand my goal to have my side hustle income cover my discretionary personal spending and vacations. The year after that I'd like to add my children's expenses and my car expenses. The year after that, food and utilities. At that point, I'll mostly just have my mortgage left. Once I get to that point, my stash should cover my basic expenses and I will semi-FIRE or seriously downshift to focus my side hustles exclusively.